Multi-purpose or general purpose software handling machines such as personal computers (PCs), multimedia centers, personal digital assistants and the like, typically run software that has been obtained from many different software vendors. For example, a PC may be loaded and configured with an operating system distributed by one software vendor, a virus scanner distributed by another, and specialized applications and data distributed by still other software vendors. Likewise, services provided by a number of different vendors may also be enabled and configured on software handling systems.
As used herein, the term “software vendor” includes any entity that provides software or services, whether the software is licensed or sold, or distributed for free or is provided incidental to a service. The term “software,” as used herein, includes computer instructions, data, or any other information that can be stored electronically, including media such as music, images, video, and the like, and specifically includes services.
Software is often revised to add features and capabilities, to effect service changes and to fix problems that have been discovered. These revisions are released from time to time and are made available in a variety of patches, updates, and product releases which typically can be downloaded from software vendor download servers such as Internet Websites. The revisions may be provided for free or may be sold. Unfortunately, the burden is frequently placed on software installers and users to ensure that the most up to date versions have been downloaded and installed.
The tasks of monitoring, locating, and gathering up-to-date software from a plurality of vendors can complicate the set up of software handling machines. For example, the vast majority of new PCs are sold or “bundled” together with a number of software products and services each of which may be provided by a different software vendor. The ever increasing number of software vendors has made it more and more difficult for PC vendors to monitor, track down, and obtain the latest software releases for their customers. In some cases these versions may even be impossible to provide. For example, some software vendors require customers to register their products in an on-line interactive session before granting access to fully enabled and up-to-date software products. Users can be irritated and confused by the need for such interactive sessions and may be reluctant to provide personal information to a plurality of software vendors. PC vendors typically bear the brunt of this frustration and thus continually seek ways to deliver new systems that are better configured and ready to use “out of the box.”
Software downloads and installations are further complicated by the growing number of security keys and codes needed for authentication/authorization processes involved in product activation, installation and download of revisions. Authentication keys, which are often provided on software product packaging, can all too easily become misplaced, depriving users of software revisions to which they are entitled and further decreasing customer satisfaction.
All of the aforementioned problems, and many others, impede the efficient set up and maintenance of PCs and other software handling machines. Embodiments of the present invention address the foregoing problems by providing a system and method for managing the download and installation of software from a plurality of software vendors.